WRIGHT COUNTY, MN – Wright County Deputies along with Emergency Medical Services responded about 3 p.m. Friday afternoon to a report of an unconscious 3-year-old who was located at the bottom of a residential pool in the 1300 block of County Road 112 in Woodland Township, according to a social media post from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.

The 3-year-old boy was out of pool when emergency services arrived, and lifesaving efforts had been started. The boy was transported by helicopter to a metro hospital. The 3-year-old’s current condition is not known, according to the post.

Fox 9 reported that Lt. Matt Treichler of the Wright County Sheriff’s Office said a parent found the boy at the bottom of an above-ground residential pool. The incident remains under investigation.

UPDATE: The Wright County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release Monday stating the sheriff’s office was notified Sunday that the 3-year-old had passed away.

CARVER COUNTY, MN – May 14 at about 4:02 p.m, deputies were dispatched to investigate a report of a suspicious vehicle at 4655 Co. Rd. 123 in Watertown Township, according to a press release from Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson.

The suspect vehicle had left the scene when the caller reported the incident. The caller requested extra patrols in the area. Deputies ran the motor vehicle registration provided by the caller and learned the vehicle had been stolen from Shakopee. The suspect in the vehicle theft was identified as Vernon Terry Surratt, 37, of Coon Rapids. Deputies further learned Surratt was a fugitive wanted by the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC).

May 15, 2018, at about 10:21 a.m., a deputy located the stolen vehicle and suspect driver who fled when the deputy tried to stop the vehicle. Deputies pursued the vehicle west on MN 7 into McLeod County, south through Lester Prairie and back into rural parts of Carver County before turning east on MN Hwy. 7. Deputies, who were assisted by the McLeod County Sheriff’s Office, Lester Prairie Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnetrista Public Safety
Department, and South Lake Minnetonka Public Safety, made several attempts to stop the vehicle using tire
deflation devices, which the suspect was able to avoid.

As the vehicle approached MN Hwy. 7 at Minnewashta Parkway, the vehicle swerved to avoid tire deflation devices and the driver lost control of the vehicle, colliding with a motorist who was stopped at the intersection. The suspect attempted to flee, but was boxed in by pursuing law enforcement and arrested without further incident.

The female motorist who was struck by the suspect vehicle, Katy Esmerald Perez-Velazquez, 42, of Shorewood, suffered injuries in the crash and was transported by Ridgeview Ambulance to 212 Medical Center in Chaska.

The suspect, Vernon Surratt of Coon Rapids, received minor injuries in the crash and was treated and released from 212 Medical Center in Chaska, according to the press release. He was transported to the Carver County Jail where he remains pending formal charges in this incident, as well as being held on the DOC warrants.

A female passenger in the stolen vehicle, Mellisa Coal Martinson (34) of Minneapolis, was not injured and had no involvement in this incident other than being a passenger. She was released at the scene.
In addition to the stolen vehicle and Ms. Perez-Velazquez’s vehicle, four squad cars were damaged in this incident. One squad struck the tire deflation devices, flattening three tires, and three squads were damaged while attempting to box in the suspect vehicle. Minnesota State Patrol is investigating the motor accidents.

HOWARD LAKE, WAVERLY, WINSTED, MN – One item on the agenda for the Monday, April 23 Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted School Board work session is to “discuss parents paying for tickets for athletic events.”

Other topics include discussion of a military wall, asphalt projects, and kindergarten assessments.

The meeting will start at 6 p.m. in the high school media center. Look for coverage in the Friday, April 27 edition of the Herald Journal.